Its midnight. I’m not sleepy. I have things on my mind. So what shall I do to channel this angst? Listen to the new Benson Boone record, that’s what.

People are really hating on this album. Well, I’ll be the judge of that. Surely a 36 year old caucasian dude in Columbus, Ohio is the ideal person to take a listen, right? Here we go. Track by track. Let’s do it.

You absolutely shouldn’t take this seriously and Benson Boone is a more accomplished musician and vocalist than I will ever be. Got that? K, cool.

“Sorry, I’m Here For Someone Else” – Synthy goodness is a promising start. I’m a simple man. I like big hooks, shimmery production, and synthesizer. This has all of those. 4/5 Backflips.

“Mr. Electric Blue” – The vibrato is strong, man. This song has another big chorus. The vocals are a tad shrill. Less is more, Mr. Boone. This is definitely a joyful summer tune, though. 3/5 Backflips.

“Man in Me” – These drums are very punchy and crisp. The chorus doesn’t completely hit for me. But I love all the layers. Are there too many layers? I’m honestly not sure. But I like the general idea. The outro is too drawn out. 3/5 Backflips.

“Mystical Magical” – This song has a fun melody and over the top lyrics. Sometimes lyrics are supposed to be over the top. So bad its good. Would I listen regularly? Probably not. But I’m vibin’. 3/5 Backflips.

“Reminds Me of You” – There are bones of a good song here. But he can just sing it. Not everything needs falsetto. No need to strain, Mr. Boone. 2/5 Backflips.

“Momma Song” – This song is heartfelt and seems to be staying in the proper lane. It would be a little weird if Benson was singing drawn out falsettos to his mother. 3/5 Backflips.

“I Wanna Be the One You Call” – The cadence in this song bugs me. 2018 Maroon 5 called. They want their production back. And come on – JUST SING THE SONG, MAN. No more theatrics! 1.5/5 Backflips.

“Wanted Man” – This song is be-boping along in a fun way. I’m enjoying the chorus. It has a bit more aggression than its predecessors. 3.5/5 Backflips.

“Take Me Home” – I’m surprised it took us this long to get to a piano ballad. While Boone still overdoes the falsetto, his voice sounds perhaps the most authentic here on the whole album. 4/5 Backflips.

“Young American Heart” – This isn’t a bad way to close out the record. The song has a feeling like a finale, but wouldn’t feel out of place elsewhere on the album. 3/5 Backflips.

My overall feeling is that Benson has talent, and that the songs are fun but that he leans too much into theatrics. Several times, his vocals sound strained and its distracting from the intended effect. I can understand why this album is getting panned by snobs, but I respect the intent of the album to be fun and think those panning certain songs as over the top could stand to loosen up a bit. I think the next Benson Boone record will be a bit more restrained, which will allow the other elements to shine more. I don’t think heavily produced music is inherently bad like some critics do; however I can see where there might be a lot going on at times. A mainstream pop audience isn’t going to pay as much attention to the layers, and the music nerds (like me) are going to be distracted from the production by the over the top vocals. This album has a decent foundation. I think there’s some lessons to be learned.

I don’t know how many backflips to rate this album as a whole out of 5. Listen and draw your own conclusion.